My name is Jack McElduff, and it gives me great pleasure to write my first piece for Check Down. I am heading into my sophomore year at Marist College (go Foxes), and couldn’t be more excited to start writing. Erik Manditch (known to the Check Down community as “Mando”) is an old high school friend of mine, so kudos to him for seeing my potential. With that said, I’d…
Hello readers. My name is Jeb Clarke and this is my first post here at Check Down. I am a recent (6 days) college graduate and I find myself in the awkward phase that most of my fellow classmates seemingly find themselves in post-graduation. It seems as though us graduates can be categorized into three groups. Group A includes the fortunate ones that obtained a fancy, suit-wearing job that requires relocating to…
And after 9 long months, it’s finally here. The UEFA Champions League Final. Through the rigorous international competition, only two clubs have stood the test of time and now play for their spot in history. And these two clubs happen to share a city. This year’s Champions League Final will start the next chapter in what is an already bitter rivalry between Real and Atlético Madrid. Despite playing each other in a number of…
This article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando. Once again, we have a Stanley Cup Finals matchup that practically no one saw coming. The Penguins being here isn’t much of a surprise. After a slow start to the season, the Penguins turned things around after interim coach Mike Sullivan took over and they have thrived since. Even though the Tampa Bay Lightning gave them all…
This article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando. Facing elimination, the Golden State Warriors regained their swagger in a 120-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. In my estimation, it was Golden State’s most complete performance of the series, which should serve them in good stead as the series heads back to Oklahoma City Saturday night. There was a lot to like about the Warriors…
You’re reading The Morning Mando, a column released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings about four of the most intriguing stories in sports. In today’s edition, I’ll break down what went right for the Warriors in their win over Oklahoma City last night and discuss why the pressure is firmly on the Thunder heading into Game 6. I’ll also look ahead to the top storylines in this year’s Stanley Cup…
As Italian national coach Antonio Conte was finalizing his Euro 2016 roster, he chose to omit former Juventus and national team players Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo. What’s similar between these two players? They both decided to leave Serie A and join the MLS. Conte made it very clear that both Giovinco and Pirlo’s decision to play in the U.S. did hurt their chances for making the national team. Pirlo has had a…
Over the past five years or so that I have really followed playoff hockey, I have noticed a few things about Game 7’s that I want to share with you today given that the Penguins and Lightning will play in one tonight. I’m really excited about this because of all the betting knowledge I have (or wish I had, lol), I’m very confident with my Game 7 hockey bets because, for…
The article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando. We’re roughly a third of the way through the MLB season, which means I think there is a large enough sample size to evaluate who the most surprising and disappointing players have been. So without further ado, here are seven surprising studs followed by seven of the biggest duds. Surprise Studs Jackie Bradley Jr., OF Boston Red…
This article was originally published in the latest edition of The Morning Mando. The Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Tampa Lightning last night to force a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh. This is the second straight year the Eastern Finals will go to a seventh game, and it could be the third straight year for the Western Finals depending on what happens tonight. The San Jose Sharks hold a 3-2 lead…